U.S. Urges Americans to Leave Liberia

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, May 25, 2003

The United States urged Americans to leave the rebellion-torn West African nation of Liberia, citing the spread of fighting.

The warning comes as two rebel movements, one newly formed, press in upon President Charles Taylor's government from the north and southeast, with fighting surging ahead of scheduled peace talks.

About 500 Americans are registered with the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, the capital. Commercial flights were still traveling to and from the capital.

U.S. authorities said the move was not an evacuation and that the U.S. Embassy remained open.

A State Department travel warning noted fighting in the country "could expand to other areas without warning."

"The presence of heavily armed government security personnel can constitute a serious danger as well," the State Department said.

"Furthermore, periodic inflammatory statements in the local media regarding U.S. policies and presence in Liberia could also incite violence against American interests," the statement said.

Rebels based in the north, along the border with Guinea, are fighting an increasingly aggressive campaign against Taylor.

In recent weeks, a second rebel group also has started pressing in from the border with Ivory Coast, taking the southeastern port of Harper.

Tensions were high Monday on the eastern borders with Guinea and Ivory Coast, raised by local fears of new cross-border offensives by rebels allegedly sheltering in those countries.

Deputy National Security Minister John Yormi put out an appeal Monday to all owners of single-barrel shotguns in the border region, asking them to stand ready to defend the country.

The rebels' ultimate goal is to take Monrovia and drive out Taylor, who has acquired a wide range of enemies in more than a decade of involvement in West Africa's roiling conflicts.

Fighting has increased ahead of June 4 peace talks in Accra, Ghana. International mediators met with the northern rebels Monday in neighboring Sierra Leone, trying to talk the rebels into a cease-fire in advance of the talks.